


The Greatest Ever (Octopus Rising)

by PinkDragon1029



Category: Splatoon
Genre: A few original characters - Freeform, Action, Agent 8 adapting to inkling society, Agent 8 deserves so much love, Agent 8 wants to be the very best, Awkward Roommates, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, HEALTHY multiple relationships, M/M, Platonic Relationships, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Slow Burn, Tags will change as story progresses, comedy?, let the poor boi be happy, like no octo ever was, rating will eventually go up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-09-20 17:57:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17027373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkDragon1029/pseuds/PinkDragon1029
Summary: From chucking chum to earning mun, a team of four rises from obscurity into the limelight of professional inksports. Each fighting for their own dream to reach the same goal: Being the best of the best.Agent 8, now named August, feels at loss for what his purpose is, and searches for meaning on the bright surface and booming life of Inkopolis. His friend ropes him into joining the inksports tournament to challenge the two year reigning champions- Harpoon Fury.And something about their leader makes his ink boil.





	1. Clock In, Clock Out

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Welcome to The Greatest Ever! 
> 
> I don't usually post anything I write, but I felt like this work was turning out nicely, so I decided to start posting it. Splatoon has only gotten better and better since its release and I think a fanfiction was in order! 
> 
> So please enjoy Agent 8's journey to the top!  
> And maybe find some love along the way ;)

Salmon run was a hell of a way to make a living. There were seemingly endless waves of mad salmonids rushing out from the radioactive ocean, toting their weaponized kitchenware with a penchant for destruction. Not that August really could blame them. They were, after all, stealing their eggs and shipping them off to their anonymous employer. For what reason? He didn’t know; he didn’t really care. Getting paid was all that mattered.

Upon immigration to Inkopolis, August didn’t have a lot of options for employment. Either he lacked the necessary experience, or the employer was still wary about hiring a shifty octoling. The sudden surge of octolings from the underground resulted in a strain within Inkopolis’ economy. Housing and employment opportunities being the two that were stretched thin. Grizzco Industries attracted many of these displaced citizens with their bright advertisements claiming “No experience required! All ages and backgrounds accepted!”

August felt like a fool.

Admittedly, the work paid very well, and he took to it like an octopus in ink. However, the inconsistent hours and the extraordinary demands of Grizzco chipped away at August’s well-tempered patience. Splat a salmonid boss, grab the egg, throw the egg in the basket- easy, right? Unfortunately, this was not the case. The hordes of crazed fish flowed like a gusher from the sea, bosses stacked on top of each other without pause, turf was overwhelmingly being consumed by green sludge and his teammates were spread thin.

August cranked his broken Grizzco brella hard as he mowed down a line of chum and made his way to the basket, golden egg in tow. Behind him, he faintly heard the build-up warble of a steelhead preparing its bomb. Trepidation swelled within his chest as he pressured through the crowd and jumped a ledge to the basket, swiftly depositing the final egg for the round. A sharp _smack_ caught his attention and as he turned, he saw the steelhead rupture into an explosion of ink. Upon a distant ledge, Lara stood with a charger and a smug smile. There she went, watching his back as she always has.

_You’ve always had my back._

A shrill cry for help captured their attention. Swimming up from the docks were the life rafts of two a spatted coworkers followed by a churning steel eel. August let out an exasperated sigh and spurred into action. He leaped and inked his way through the sludge and incoming enemies while Lara sniped the steel eel’s tail down. As the weaving machinery fell apart, he revived his coworkers back into combat. The two grateful squids hollered “Booya!” and spread out to secure the area. One scrapper was dismantled with ease while August homed in on a troublesome flyfish. He quickly established some ground coverage and prepped to throw a bomb. The flyfish’s missile containers opened and he threw the first splatbomb. It landed within its mark and he waited to prep the next bomb.

“Watch out!” a feminine voice called out.

August could not react in time to avoid the cohock as it crept up behind his location and smacked its frying pan down upon his submerged form. He lurched and was caught between forms when he fell backward into the water. He yelped and flailed for a moment before dispersing. The shock of the event was so sudden, he barely registered the burn of the toxic water on his body. Shame and irritation rushed through him as he was confined to his jumping life raft.

One coworker must’ve heard his garbled shout because they were now carving their way to his. August willed his life raft forward as fast as he could towards them to meet, but the sound of the flyfish’s tentamissles launching quickly squashed any hope he had as they all arched down onto their location. The incompetent coworker was annihilated.

_Of course._

The Grizzo company boat’s horn bellowed, marking the end of their current shift and he couldn’t be more grateful. The salmonids shivered in unison at the noise and retreated into the ocean. Two sniper shots rained down and revived August and his attempted rescuer. He looked up and once again saw Lara’s satisfied face, her grin wide and eyes squinted in amusement. Perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised, but the small wound on his pride stung. August pouted and followed the team as they all super jumped back to the transport vessel.

*.*.*.*.*

Within the Grizzo Industries locker room, the team stripped down from their gear and dressed into their civilian clothes. August sat in the primary lobby as he tied his shoes when another pair of familiar shoes walked up to him. He didn’t need to glance up to know it was Lara.

“Hell of a day, huh?” her tone light as she nudged his foot.

 He scoffed in response and looked up as he finished the knot. Her face was neutral, but he knew she was teasing him; she more than likely came to gloat about saving his tentacles twice. He schooled a straight face and stared her down for a moment before replying, “Don’t.”

  She snorted and rolled her orange eyes, “Don’t what? Back you up like I’m supposed to?” she sat down next to him on the bench. August looked away and instead focused on the room. Cracked ceramic flooring with harsh fluorescent lighting dominated the atmosphere. The ventilation was loud and outdated. It reminded him too much about before. Lara clasped her fingers together as she continued, “But seriously, you okay? You weren’t exactly at your best out there today.” Her voice was now quiet and low.

 He didn’t answer back at first. His thoughts churned and fought as old memories crept back from the recesses of his mind. August didn’t hate his job, not really, and although he generally disliked his coworkers, there were comparatively worse people. Lara, at least, was something positive to look forward to each shift. But there was this constant sense that he was missing something. Every other day, he would wake up, prepare for the day, work, and then watch TV at home. On his days off, there was little to differentiate from that formula. Three months have passed since he stepped upon the surface. The sensation of seeing the sky and feeling the sun for the first time was still clear in his memory. And yet…

_I wanted more._

“I’m fine. I’ll do better next shift.” He matched his tone to hers, level and low.

Lara tapped her foot and made a non-committal noise. The other two co-workers marched past them and said their goodbyes while she measured him up. Most of the time, August was grateful for her concern, but today he didn’t want to deal with it. With significant effort, he held her gaze strongly before she caved. She sighed and then stood up, “Don’t believe you, but whatever. Let’s ditch this place.”

 August allowed himself to relax and followed her out of the lobby. The sun was bright today and Inkopolis bustled with an unusual amount of activity. He recalled it was much like this back during the splatfest, crowds of people dominating central square, musical fanfares, and the smell of food trucks wafting through the air. The spatfest itself seemed to be excessively frivolous and over a ridiculous topic. August didn’t know if orange juice with or without pulp was truly important, but it seemed to be for the inklings. Although he didn’t participate, a sizable group of octolings did with the hope of understanding Inkopolis culture.

 It took weeks to acclimate to his new home; everything about inkling culture was severely different. In the beginning, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever would adapt, but with the help of the Squidbeak Splatoon and Off the Hook, he managed to keep his head in the game. His interactions with the group nowadays were far and in between, but he didn’t mind very much, they were busy people and he was content with the life of a civilian.

_This is what you wanted._

The unmistakable intro song of Off the Hook’s segment on INN blared from the central tower’s speakers. August sped his stride and pushed his way into the central square to look up at the massive TV screen. Sure enough, Pearl and Marina spewed their segment on the stages for inksports, but he waited patiently for the end, something was different this time. Too many people were gathered together, their collective attention was undivided.

“Okay y’all! Here’s a special announcement to shake things up!” Pearl posed and grinned at the cameras, “The new inksports tournament’s been announced and only in four weeks! Get yer girls and yer friends and get in there ‘cause Team Harpoon Fury has entered to defend their two-year championship!”

Marina gasped and cupped her hands in front of her lips, “Again? They did awesome last year!”

“Yeah and they’re here to defend their title.” Pearl reclined back in her egg-shaped chair, “Check out Team Harpoon Fury here live for their two-cents.”

The camera cut over to a static shot of an all-squid team standing together. Most of them looked no more threatening than your average grocery shopper, but the squid standing up front in a black rider jacket commanded attention. A toothy grin dominated his features as he proclaimed, “We’re Harpoon Fury, and you all better step aside or get crushed under my boot! We won last year, and the year before, and we’re going to win again!”

His team cheered behind him and he extended his arms outward, “So if you think you can take us, bring it! Apply for the tournament and sit quietly while we stomp every single one of you into the ground!”

A strange feeling welled up within August as the broadcast cut out and the image of the champion team burned into his brain. Marina began to speak, but the words were muffled to him as his gaze unfocused from the screen. It took a few seconds before he registered Lara bumping her elbow into his side, she raised her voice loud enough to be heard, “Hey, we should participate!”

August snapped his head over to look at her, her bright eyes were all that he could see suddenly, “Let’s sign up! Y’know, for the tournament? We could totally dominate and win! And I did you hear? The prize money is 500,000g! That’s 125,000g for each team member!”

His mouth suddenly felt dry, which it very much never should, and an unfamiliar emotion was mounting from within his chest. He must’ve looked like a gaping salmonid because Lara laughed. He tore his eyes away to look back up to the TV screen, which was now running advertisements. Could he really participate in a inksports tournament? Originally, the idea seemed barbaric and introduced unnecessary aggression. No, it was very much unnecessary, and he shied away from the idea. He wanted to get away from violence. But was Grizzco really all that different from a violent lifestyle? How would this competition be much different than the already combative occupation he chose?

_Harpoon Fury…_

 That team appeared basic and simple, normal even. But their leader was so passionate and loud as if he loved what he did. Would he love competitive sports too? It couldn’t be worse than fighting salmonids and stealing eggs- it couldn’t.

“C’mon, what’cha think? We’re both good in a fight. Maybe we can ask around work and find two other people to sign up with us.” Lara continued her persuasive speech, “I mean, what’s to lose? Go home and just work the same job every other day?”

“But…” August struggled to find his voice.

 “Fuck Grizzco.” Lara spat, “We can do better. _We_ are better.”

Her grin was replaced with conviction- a tightly set mouth with arched eyebrows. She was being serious, and he could hardly believe it. And yet…

“Okay, let’s do it.”

Lara smirked and patted his back, “Nice. I knew you’d go for it. Let’s wreck this competition.”

**Madness! Chaos! Destruction!**

**Do these salmon know of nothing else?**

**Perhaps they only wish to stave abduction.**


	2. There's no I in Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lara and August get a team together for the tournament. 
> 
> He also meets up with his roommate that's never home. Awkwardness ensues.

August jolted awake the following morning, startled out of his vague dreams from the night. He couldn’t remember exactly what the dream entailed, only that he now was lying on his back and attempting to measure his breathing at an even pace. This wasn’t considered unusual by any means. He’d grown accustomed to these rapid states of awareness rising from his sleep, no matter how long his slumber had been. From his chest to the tips of his fingers and toes, everything tingled with energy, his muscles tense and ready for action.

_Breath in. Breath out._

He closed his eyes and steadied his shaking breath through this nose.

_Breath in. Breath out._

With a final, shuttering breath, he opened his eyes again. It was just another day. August rolled over and squinted through the offending sunlight leaking through his blinds. After grabbing his phone, he fumbled with the unlock bar for a moment before seeing a text message from Lara.

_“Meet me at Ammo Knights to get you set up. I found some peeps from work to join our team.”_

August blinked a few times before his brain processed what the message meant. Right, he agreed to some asinine plan to put together a team for the inksports tournament with Lara. Clearly, she was serious about her proposition and was already setting up a team. That meant it was too late to back out. After all, he didn’t want to disappoint the only friend he had. Such a thing wasn’t beneficial in the long term.

With a heavy sigh, he rolled out of bed and prepared for the day.

August was in the kitchen preparing some breakfast when he heard the front door open and close. He glanced over his shoulder to see Agent 3 kicking his shoes off, his expression was soured and tight. For a brief moment, he forgot about the eggs sizzling in the pan and stared, almost blatantly, but when 3’s eyes shifted up to lock with his own, he quickly turned away.

“Hey.” Agent 3 said.

“Hey.”

The noise behind him paused and August clamped his teeth shut, his eyes focused intently on the food in front of him, and he mindlessly shifted and turned the eggs in the pan. Faintly, he heard light footsteps approach and he opened his mouth to speak. However, no words would form. From the corner of his eye, he saw the vibrant blue of 3’s head, and he vaguely wondered why that was his color for the moment. Was he in a skirmish recently? Or was he just in the mood for an aesthetic change? He missed the yellow-green it had been before.

“Eggs, huh?”

August felt every inch of his body tense, “Uh- yeah…” He swallowed thickly, “Want any?”

3 was quiet for a moment, as if pondering the offer, but then replied, “Nah, I’m heading to bed.”

August nodded, but said nothing more as 3 shuffled away and into his room. For the second time that day, he measured his breathing slowly through his nose. His track record of keeping himself calm was already at odds, and he had the sinking feeling that it would only be tested further when he meets up with Lara. He wasn’t sure what kind of people she wrangled to join them on this ambitious escapade. No one within their right mind, no doubt. However, anyone who worked at Grizzco was crazy at best and suicidal at worst. If nothing else, they knew how to handle a weapon and perhaps that’s all that was required.

August watched the morning news as he ate his breakfast, the volume turned down as low as he could hear.

*.*.*.*.*.

“So… these are the people you found?”

Lara pursed her lips and offered a half-hearted shrug, “Only two that volunteered.”

August looked over to the two inlkings standing outside of Ammo Knights automatic doors. One girl who was decked out in camouflage, her frayed ponytail sticking out from her hat. The other- an otherwise unremarkable fellow wearing gardening gear and a two-stripe mesh hat. He didn’t recognize the pair, even though they were from Grizzco, and assumed they were from lower career positions.

“That’s… your inksports gear?” August asked the male inkling. It wasn’t an eloquent way to greet a potential teammate, but the words flew from his mouth with little thought.

The gardner’s big purple eyes stared back for a moment before he spoke, “I was told about a new job, so I dressed for work.” He looked like he belonged in a flower shop.

“Really? _I_ was told about forming a turf war team, so I came dressed for _war_!” the girl in camo exclaimed, her seafoam eyes gleaming in excitement.

Lara huffed a quiet laugh and crossed her arms, “Careful there, we’re all greenhorns so there’s no way to know how this’ll turn out. Also,” she said as she eyed the girl’s outfit, “That’s surplus military gear.”

Camo’s face turned as green as her tentacles.

August patted Lara’s back and they shared a look for a moment before he addressed the team, “Thanks for volunteering. What weapons are you two good at?”

Camo spoke first, her face still a tint of green, “I uh… I’m good with automatics and I’ve practiced with duelies a few times.” She unholstered her splattershot jr. and showed it to the group.

August bit the inside of his lips and clasped his hands behind his back. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been surprised. Lara, on the other hand, was concealing her amusement with less restraint.

“It’s all I got right now, okay!” Camo defended.

He nodded and then looked at the gardner.

“I got this bamboozler.” He unholstered a weapon that’s seen better days; it’s wood full of scuffs and chipped edges.

August kept his straight face. Lara did not.

“That looks like it was your grandpa’s!” her voice was filled with exasperation.

“It was my dad’s.”

She ran her hands down her face and shook her head, “Okay… We’ve got some work to do, but let’s start with some new weapons.” She looked over at August, “Do you still got that octoshot?” he nodded, “Okay. Camo, he’ll get you that octoshot and you’ll be using that for the moment. Gardner, you need something new. What are you good at?”

“Anything really.”

She stared at him for a moment before continuing, “No preference?”

“No.”

“Alright, just grab whatever you can afford in there for now then. Work in progress and all that jazz. Let’s head in.”

The group filed into the Ammo Knights store and broke off into pairs, Gardner accompanied August as they walked the store’s aisles. A significant number of guns and weaponry occupied the store’s space, the varieties of each type boasting a wide margin of unique quality. A quiet pop song played over the shop’s speakers and a few other people were milling about within the store. Here and there, he overheard conversations about the upcoming tournament with ideas of grandeur and luxury upon winning the championship. Although he couldn’t care less about the prize money; the idea of victory raised an unfamiliar feeling within his chest.

Excitement.

Gardner paused at a section of the store- the clearance aisle. He mulled about the cheaper brands silently while August browsed with him. The inkling had a bamboozler, which was a viable enough weapon, however, its condition was poor and in need of replacement. His eyes drifted over each of the standard splat weapons within the aisle, each of its variety suited to both new and experienced players, and he debated which Gardner may respond best to. The bamboozler was a steady weapon that required precision and accuracy. Perhaps he would do best with a similar style?

“What do you like about the bamboozler?” August asked him.

A faint expression of thought crossed Gardner’s face as he answered, “I dunno. I didn’t choose it. It was just something that was lying around the house.”

“Have you used it before?”

“Yeah…” he rubbed his arm thoughtfully, “It’s okay I guess. I kinda like stuff where I have to think about shooting. Like, splattershots are cool n’ all, but I like other things. And the bamboozlers they sell here are too expensive for me right now.”

August hummed as he continued to browse the nearest shelf. Duelies were likely out of the question, as was the roller.

“Do you like chargers?” he offered.

Gardner looked over at the colorful sniper rifle and his lips twisted into a grimace, “Not really. They’re kinda slow for me and I dunno if my aim is that good. I’d probably miss a lot.”

August nodded and mulled over the choices until something else caught his eye.  “How about the splat brella?” It wasn’t the most combative weapon, but its crank-action style and careful handling might be compatible with his new teammate. It was also cheaper.

Gardner looked at the folded up brella on display. He was quiet for a moment, debating on the suggestion before giving a small shoulder shrug, “Sure.”

It wasn’t much of a response; August guessed that he simply a man of few words. Or just terribly awkward if that bowl cut was anything to go by. In the end, synergy on the battlefield was all that mattered. He hoped that Gardner’s overall quiet nature would allow him to make decisions carefully out on the field, on the other hand, he may be the type to freeze up when overwhelmed. The inkling frowned at the price tag of the weapon but proceeded to check out despite this.

As he walked away, Lara approached with a smile, “Found something good?”

“I think so,” they began to walk down more aisles of the store, gradually weaving their way to the more advanced weapons, “Brellas are a hit or miss- it all depends on who’s holding them. I think he’ll do fine, though.”

“If you think so. Those two don’t seem so bad so far. Hey,” she grabbed his arm and led him over to the charger section, “You should be our ranged fighter!” she rested her hands on her hips while smiling at the display shelves.

“You think so?” August wasn’t exactly sure about her suggestion. He was good with a charger, without a doubt, however ranged combat had been more of Lara’s preference of late. “I thought you preferred them.”

She shrugged, “I like them, yeah, but we need a good charger and I trust you with it more.” She pointed at a gun, “This one. You’re getting it.”

He followed her direction to the E-liter 4k custom on the shelf and his jaw dropped.

Lara laughed and nudged his side, “Stop that! You look like a salmonid. But yeah, you should use this one. I’d prefer you to get the scoped one, but it’s way too expensive. E-liters are strong and have insane range; you just have to be careful because its charge up is really slow. It’s designed for experienced snipers.” When she turned to look at him again, her face was serious, “Think you’re up for it?”

August shut his mouth with a _click_ and grimaced. It would be a tough weapon to handle but could easily dominate the field in the right hands, “I don’t have enough money.”

“Not-a-problem. You got 7,500g at least?”

“I can still pay my bills that way, yes.” He didn’t like where this was going.

Lara nodded, grabbed the exchange token for the weapon, and walked away to check out. August followed and began to protest, “I’m not expecting you to pay for this. I’ll just get a cheaper model.”

“Forget it, we _need_ that one. Besides, this is for the team, so what’s the harm in pooling cash? Consider it an investment for that prize money we’ll get later.”

_Fair reasoning, I suppose._

“At least let me pay 9k for it. That was my original budget.” He argued.

“Nope.” She handed the token to the cashier, a short hermit crab citizen who seemed to be especially excited by the weapon choice. Lara held her hand out expectedly and August relented. He handed over his payment card and she split the cost in half. A sour ball of distaste welled up deep within his gut. Relying on people to pay for him always felt awful, but Lara was being particularly insistent, and he doubted he could change her mind.

The group left Ammo Knights with their new gear and agreed to rendezvous at the inksports lobby to have their first casual turf war. The group agreed that they should do a few mock battles before signing up for the tournament to test their group’s compatibility. August briefly stopped at his apartment to grab his octoshot and change clothes. He decided to go with an annaki mask, a black V-neck tee, and a pair of annaki arachno boots.

Agent’ 3’s room was still silent as he left.

*.*.*.*.*.*.

Turf war was less regulated than most inksports, pretty much any fool with a splat weapon could walk in and sign up for a random game with strangers. Therefore, the amount of chaos that ensued on the field was often in high dosages. A team was just as likely to match up with a group of non-sensible nobodies as they were to match with an experienced team.

By the time August arrived at the lobby to sign up, the group was already lounging about. Camo and Gardner kept their outfits while Lara wore her black fishfry bandana and annaki drive tee, her octobrush strapped to her back. A prominent scowl dominated her features and he was tentative with his approach, “I’m a bit late, sorry.” He worked to secure the massive case holding the new E-liter on his back.

Her eyes flickered to him for a moment before staring at the wall again. August shot a worried look to his new teammates. Gardner shrugged innocently, Camo looked guilty. 

“What’s up?”

“What’s up,” Lara started, “Is that Camo-girl over there signed our official team name without consulting us first.”

“I’m sorry, okay! I was afraid that a line would start, and I wanted us to get in quick!” Camo retorted as she crossed her arms.

“You could’ve at least messaged us to ask for suggestions.” Lara’s tone remained indignant.

August shifted nervously and asked, “What’s the name?”

“The Chum Chuckers.” She all but snarled in response.

“Pfftt,” August attempted to cover the laugh by coughing, but if Lara’s face was anything to go by, she was not amused by it. “I ah-“ he cleared his throat, “Don’t see what’s wrong with that?”

“What.”

“It’s oddly appropriate, I think. We’re all from Grizzco, and we certainly, well, _chuck chum_.” August kept his tone light and tried to smile at Camo behind his mask.

She offered a small smile back as Gardner said, “I like it.”

Lara’s face scrunched up into a tight pout before heaving a sigh, “Okay. I guess if that’s the consensus, it’ll do.” She looked at Camo, “Where’s our match?”

“Inkblot art academy,” she replied, “I didn’t recognize the opposite team, so I think we’ve got a good shot.”

Lara waved her hand in dismissal, “We’ll be fine. I set up a com app for my phone and I’ll send the info to you guys. I’ll also get us set up so we can still talk while out on the field. Communication’s key to winning these things, so try to keep in contact as much as possible.” She gestured for the team to follow her out of the lobby and continued as they walked, “Basic layout- I’ll lead frontline with my brush. Camo and Gardner- you two can break off but try to stick together. Aug-“ she stopped herself and looked back at him, “Uhh… so are we really doing this codename thing?”

He shrugged while Camo piped back, “I like it! Gardner and I already have ours, so you can be Bandana, and you” she gestured to August, “can be Mask!”

“Sounds good.”

“Okay, so Mask,” Lara continued, “you’ll pick a secure position and watch our backs. I might need your back up the most though and try to take out any of the opposite team’s ranged fighters.”

He nodded. It was a standard, solid plan and should work. Ultimately, it depended upon the team they face. Hopefully, she had ideas on how to change plans if things go sideways.

Upon arriving at inkblot art academy, Lara set the team up with a com system and it brought back old, dusty memories from _before_. He refused to let his mind go down that alley, however, and he wondered if she ever thought about it. Ever since they reunited in Inkopolis, they had a silent agreement to never talk about the underground.

_It was better off that way._

August handed his octoshot over to Camo and explained a bit, “It’s like your splattershot jr. accept with a bit more kick and a narrower stream.”

Camo inspected the foreign weapon, turning it about in her hands with a smile, “Thanks! I’ll give it back when I get something better. When I save up enough money, I’m getting one of those splattershot pros- the forge edition.”

“Good choice. Learn how to handle this, and you’ll adapt to the pro quickly.”

“So…” Camo spoke slowly, forming her words carefully, “Were you and Bandana one of those… y’know, octo-soldiers? I kinda got that vibe.”

“Pardon?” he blinked a few times as he processed her meaning.

“You two just got this weird vibe, I guess. Not like the inksport pros do, but something bigger. Like you’ve been in _real_ fights before.”

She searched his eyes, what she was looking for, August didn’t know. He also didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t particularly _want_ to. How would she know he was a soldier? What right did she have to point that out in the first place? He barely knew her. He became painfully aware of his pulse pounding in his head, and his jaw tensed up so tight, it hurt, “That’s none of your business.” his voice was leveled and cold.

“Okay! Sheesh, sorry!” Camo stormed away, an unmistakable hurt in her eyes.

August closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

_That was harsh. She didn’t deserve that._

“Mask! You ready? We’re heading to the spawn point.” Lara called out to him. He turned and joined the group without a word.

*.*.*.*.*.

The team spawned into inkblot art academy in unison, their team color a vibrant green, the opposing team in purple. The layout of the academy had been set up to accommodate inksport matches with tarps laid out on some areas, valuables encased for protection, and the battle area sectioned off from the public. Due to the low value of the groups battling this match, only a small number of bystanders watched from the distance.

Although August had never taken the time to visit the academy, he wasn’t particularly impressed by its white buildings and lacking personality.

The countdown blared on the arena’s intercom system. Every inch of August’s body tensed and reared for action. The faux gunshot sounded off and the team burst into action.

“Mask, with me! We’re going mid. Gardner, Camo- go left.” Lara ordered.

“Aye, aye!” Camo and Gardner rushed down the left alleyway, painting turf as they went.

Lara dragged her octobrush along the ground, weaving her way towards mid. August followed up her trail and set up at a secure location overlooking the middle grounds and a small well of nervousness crept into his mind as he acknowledged how unfamiliar he was with the layout of the area. In the distance, he could already see the enemy team’s charger setting up and another jumping into mid with their splat duelies.

Lara and the dual wielder clashed momentarily as he charged up, his eyes following the enemy sniper’s missed shots at Lara. She splatted the opposing inkling and inked her way out of mid and towards the right. The clueless charger continued to miss shots as the octoling escaped.

 August pulled the trigger and splatted the novice in one shot. As he refilled ink and prepared another charge, Camo inked her way to center point and began to cover turf. An enemy inkling holding a blaster came up from right, Lara in hot pursuit as they tossed a splat bomb at Camo.

 “Camo, bomb behind you,” August said into his com.

“What?” she turned and screeched as the bomb exploded, effectively splatting her.

August shook his head dismissively and splatted the blaster as they continued to evade Lara’s wild swinging. She returned to the right side and began to cover ground. Gardner jumped into mid and began to advance up the ramp to the enemy’s side. The team’s dualies returned and they began to skirmish. August leapt from his location and climbed to the top of the tower occupying middle grounds. The sound of fighting caught his attention on the right side, however.

Lara was boxing the blaster inkling in desperation but was ultimately defeated. He turned to snipe them but missed and cursed as he charged up another shot, “Got trouble on right side.”

“Sorry!” Gardner managed to say before being splatted by Dualies.

 “Jumping to you Mask!” Camo called out.

“Wait!” he urged, but she was already in the air.

He had no time to react as the blaster jumped up from the tower’s wall, aimed, and landed a direct on August. Shock rippled through his body before dissipating into nothing. The pain was over as soon as it began. Immediately upon landing on the tower, Camo met the same fate.

August re-spawned back into formation and took off, Gardner close behind him.

“I’m on left now, took out their shitty charger. Try to get right back for now and forget mid. We’ll rendezvous.” Lara said over com.

August led his way to with Gardner close behind. Dualies was working to cover right territory and August prepared a charge, Gardner jumped into the open area with his brella open. The enemy focused his attention on breaking the brella’s shield, leaving him open to an instant splat from the E-liter, “Gardner, cover here, I’m heading mid.”

He nodded, and they broke apart.

Lara and Blaster were juggling each other in mid now, neither getting close enough in range to kill and carefully avoiding death. The radicle must’ve distracted Blaster however as they paused to turn and fire at him. Lara immediately took them down from behind. She smiled at him and spoke over the com, “Camo- position.”

“Covering spawn.”

“Good, get over to middle and let’s get in their face.”

Gardner joined the group in mid and they celebrated as they began to head towards the enemy base.

At least, until a baller dropped on top of them from the tower.

All three were splatted in the explosion and Camo cried out over the com, “Where did _he_ come from? I didn’t even know they _had_ a .52 gal on their team!”

She inked her way towards mid and was quickly snuffed out by the incoming enemies.

The entire team had wiped, and they were losing turf fast.

By the time the team re-spawned, they were pushed back to base and all attempts to outmaneuver the enemy were immediately snuffed out. A horn blared over the intercom, signaling the end of the match.

They lost with a score of 39.6 – 49.4

*.*.*.*.*.

A dour mood hung over the team as they left the academy and stood in a circle outside. The purple team passed the group and August ignored their jeering insults. It was their first fight; he knew that improvement would come in later matches.

“Alright so…” Lara began to say, her eyebrows were pulled together in frustration, “Any thoughts on improvement?”

Camo was tugging at her jacket, a sour pout pulling at her mouth, “I died a lot…”

Lara shrugged, “Sure, okay. Any ideas on improving that?”

“Um, I guess I wasn’t thinking much.” She huffed and shook her head, “I just got so into it, y’know? I kept panicking!”

Lara nodded her head and held her gaze evenly, “We can work on that. Anyone else?”

“I got distracted too easily. From now on, I’d like to recon areas before matches to get familiar with the layout.” August offered.

“Good. Gardner?”

He hummed and blinked a few times, his face tight on his otherwise neutral expression, “I think I get caught alone too much. I guess I relied on Mask watching me and I’d like to practice with the brella more.”

Lara nodded and stood tall, “Alright team, I’m glad we can look at this objectively. It sucks we lost our first match, but it’s just that, our first match.” She managed to smile to everyone, “Let’s work on everything that was said, and when we’re ready, we’ll hit the arena again. Sound good?”

The team agreed and said their goodbyes as the afternoon sun beat down on the city. August began to walk home, and he was grateful for the bittersweet end to their meeting. Hope for next time was preferable to giving up. After months of working for Grizz, he felt horribly rusty out on the field, and yet so excited. The thrill of seeing an inkling in his sights, feeling the powerful kick of his rifle when he fired, and watching them being obliterated- it was incredible.

_I shouldn’t feel this good about it._

But damn it felt good.

August readjusted his weapon carrying case before opening the door to his home, and then immediately froze. On the couch sat Agent 3, casually watching TV and absently flipping the remote in his hand. He stared, feeling every nerve in his brain short-circuit, and didn’t move until 3 turned to look at him. He robotically set the case down next to the door, removed his mask, and kicked off his shoes, “Want dinner?” he offered.

“Sure.” 3 returned his focus to the TV. Some cheesy detective crime show he didn’t recognize was playing.

August walked to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and stared blankly at its contents as he contemplated what to make. Despite the two being roommates for the last three months, he and Agent 3 barely saw each other, much less spoke. 3 seldom spent time at home, and when he did, he was locked up in his room. August couldn’t recall the last time he blatantly sat in the living room, not to mention in his pajamas.

He decided on ramen noodle soup.

After setting the water to boil and prepping meat and vegetables, he felt his phone vibrate.

 _“Free to talk?”_ The message was from Lara.

August turned to look behind him at 3. The couch was positioned facing away from the kitchen, so all he could see was the back of his head, and the scene playing on TV- a dead body on screen was being inspected by two police officers.

 _“Not now. Later tonight?”_ he sent his reply and continued the meal.

The sounds of the TV show dominated the airspace alongside sizzling pans, and yet he felt like he was suffocating in silence. The apartment was always quiet, with the lack of visitors and his ghost roommate, but whenever 3 _was_ home, a horrible cloud of awkward permeated the air. Perhaps it was because of their unique relationship of _hey, sorry we tried to kill each other once, but we’re cool now though, right?_

Ridiculous.

He wasn’t even sure what Agent 3 did in all his time away. Likely running missions for Captain Cuttlefish, but surely most of the octarians were gone with Octavio behind glass, and so many octolings laid down their arms to join the inklings. To be perfectly honest, he had no intention of asking. Agent 3 did his thing and August did his.

August awkwardly stood in the kitchen fiddling with his phone as he waited for everything to cook. He smiled a bit when he saw two friend requests from Gardner and Camo on InkNet. Or at least he thought so, he didn’t know their real names.

_Tobias and Sania, huh?_

Not that he’d ever call them that. He surprisingly liked the code names.

When the food was ready, he served up two bowls of ramen noodles accompanied by green beans, poultry, and a boiled egg. As he approached the living room couch, he offered 3 his bowl, to which he muttered a “Thanks.” And continued to watch his show and eat. August awkwardly stood next to the couch and stirred his food. Would it be weird if he sat with him? Or should he take his dinner in his room? That’s what 3 usually did, but he wasn’t moving.

“You gonna sit?” said Agent 3.

“What?” August looked up at the inkling and stammered a bit, “I mean- sure. Yeah.”

He sat on the far end of the couch while absently churning his food, steam billowing into his face as he did. The next episode of the crime show began to play with a corny theme song and video montages of the show’s highlights. He didn’t know what kind of media 3 liked but he certainly didn’t expect this. Or maybe, this was predictable of his personality and further proof the two hardly knew each other.

“So, you had an interesting day?” 3 said before taking a hefty bite of noodles.

August looked at him in confusion. What was he talking about? Did he somehow know that he was in a turf war? If so, it’d be terribly embarrassing for him to know that he lost. Said confusion, however, was resolved when 3 pointed at August’s head, his mouth still full of food.

_My color is different. Of course._

August’s color was normally hot pink, as it was the standard color for Grizzco employees. He took this opportunity as an opening, “Could say the same for you.”

Agent 3’s shoulders shook as he restrained a laugh, and then shrugged. It was unlikely he would elaborate, though. August stared down at his bowl and attempted to continue the conversation, “I uh… was thinking about the upcoming tournament. About maybe participating.” He looked over to 3, who was watching him with full attention, “I’m in a team now. We’re all new to inksports, but I think we can get better.”

“What’s your team name?”

His face shifted into a faint shade of green, “The Chum Chuckers.”

August startled when Agent 3 laughed, his head arching back and fangs clear as day. He swallowed thickly and turned an even darker shade of green. Before he could say any more, he took a large bit of meat and noodles. 3’s laughter died down slowly, and he shook his head, quietly muttering, “ _Chum chuckers_.”

The two finished their meals in silence as they watched the terrible TV drama. The plot was all over the place and contained numerous ass-pulls that were inexcusable. Through it all, 3’s attention was completely invested into the episode's plot. He couldn’t imagine why 3 found this entertaining, but perhaps he wasn’t in a place to judge. August wouldn’t be caught dead watching his favorite soap opera.

Agent 3 stood up from the couch, grabbed the other empty bowl, and paused before speaking, “I’m glad you’re starting to fit in here and I think inksports might be good for you. I’ll try to check out your team sometime.” His words were careful and light.

He walked away before August could respond.

He quietly sat on the couch as he listened to 3 clean the bowls and then retreat into his bedroom, locking the door with a _click_. With a heavy sigh, he turned off the TV, walked to his room, and left the door slightly ajar.

His room was immaculate, much like the rest of the apartment, all his books were organized by color, no clutter on the floor, and his computer desk was free from dust. August sat at his computer and opened an outdated music program he pirated awhile back. Although he never took writing music seriously, it was a relaxing way to de-stress and contemplate on his day, he even had a folder containing all his unfinished songs whenever he lost inspiration. He told himself that’d he’d pick them up again later, but never did.

After a few minutes of tweaking and adding to his work in progress, he decided to call Lara. She answered on the first ring, _“Hey, free now?”_

“Yeah, what’s up?” He kept his voice quiet.

_“Just wanted to double-check with you on the whole tournament idea. I know I kind of dragged you into it, but I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be mad if you bail.”_

August restrained a sigh and began to tap his fingers. He had doubts at first, but their match today provided a nice change from the usual weekly formula he’d been living since working at Grizzco. As much as he disliked the unnecessary aggression that came with competitive sports, he couldn’t deny to himself that, despite their loss, he had fun during that match.

Although, that may be his artificial genetics speaking.

“I’m good for it. Don’t worry, if I didn’t want to, I would’ve said so.”

_“You sure about that?”_

He bit the inside of his cheek, “Well, I would’ve eventually. Who else is supposed to drag me into new and interesting things?” he joked.

_“Right, ‘cause Grizzco is totally new and interesting.”_

“It was at the time.”

She laughed on the other side of the line, breathing static into the receiver, and August smiled, _“Okay well, just wanted to make sure you’re not just along for the ride. Camo texted me something about a place where we can all practice. I’ll send details later.”_

“Got it.”

_“Night, August. Try to get some sleep.”_

“You too.”

He ended the call, set his phone down, and plopped into his bed. That night, he dreamed of sickly green skin and distorted voices. 

**New people to meet and greet**

**How rare it is for me to acquaint**

**But hey, these people seem pretty neat**


End file.
